Graduation

2005

Stanford Law School held its graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 15, 2005 at the university's Memorial Auditorium. Among those who participated in the ceremony were 167 candidates for the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD); 18 for the degree of Master of Laws (LLM), with 8 focusing on corporate law and business, and 10 focusing on law, science, and technology; 12 for the degree of the Master of the Science of the Law (JSM); and 4 for the degree of Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD).

This year's John Bingham Hurlbut Award for Excellence in Teaching was awarded to Robert Weisberg '79, Edwin E. Huddleson, Jr. Professor of Law, a two-time winner of the coveted prize. Issuing the graduating class a final homework assignment, Weisberg said, "Dig out your original application essay. Read it–it will remind you of what you aspired to do when you applied to law school. And it will remind you to keep aspiring."

This year's law school ceremony marked the first for Larry Kramer, Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean, who told the graduates, "Law is a powerful tool, used for good, used for ill, and sometimes used with indifference. We hope that we have helped you see the difference between those uses.... Set high goals for yourself. We need great lawyers to solve tomorrow's problems. Go out there and do the impossible because you can. And go out there and live great lives."

Also speaking at the ceremony was Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer, was awarded the 2005 Jackson H. Ralston Prize in International Law by the law school. The prize is awarded for distinguished contributions to the establishment of international peace and justice through arbitration, diplomacy, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the promotion of world order. Past recipients include Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States, and Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic and leader of the Velvet Revolution.